Georgia Tech wins shootout with North Carolina

By Conor O’Neill | Halifax Media Group

Published: Sunday, November 11, 2012 at 04:46 PM.

Of those seven passes, five went for at least 19 yards. Four of the passes totaled 32, 37, 39 and 63 yards.

“They out-executed us (Saturday),” Tar Heels linebacker Kevin Reddick said. “You just have to be disciplined. The coaches were telling us all week ‘Do your job, do your job,’ and the guys didn’t come out and do that.”

Reddick’s reason for Georgia Tech’s passing efficiency was “guys having their eyes in the wrong place,” a paramount mistake when facing the triple option.

Another surprise came with Georgia Tech (5-5, 4-3) taking control in the third quarter, a frame North Carolina has owned this season. The Tar Heels entered the game having outscored teams 89-23 in the quarter and held a 29-28 halftime lead Saturday.

Thanks to a 100-yard kickoff return by Jamal Golden on the first play of the second half and shoddy play by North Carolina, Georgia Tech scored 30 points in the third quarter. After another vintage touchdown from running back Giovani Bernard restored the Tar Heels’ lead at 36-34, the Yellow Jackets scored 24 straight points.

Bernard’s touchdown – a 78-yard catch-and-run down the visiting sideline while breaking three tackles – could have been a momentum-changing play.

Instead, it was Georgia Tech and running back Robert Godhigh who were energized. Godhigh scored each of the next three touchdowns.

CHAPEL HILL – With two weeks to prepare for Georgia Tech’s triple option offense, North Carolina coach Larry Fedora expected his defense to be ready.

So much for that.

During college basketball’s opening weekend, Georgia Tech put up a basketball-like score in a 68-50 throttling of North Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.

Records for points fell across the board, most notably that it was the most points ever scored in a game between two Atlantic Coast Conference teams. It was North Carolina’s most points scored in a loss and second-most points allowed in school history (the most was 69 against Louisville in 2005).

Going on what he saw in practice during the week, it was a whipping Fedora didn’t have a clue was coming.

“If I would have seen that coming, I probably wouldn’t have shown up,” Fedora said.

Not only did North Carolina (6-4 overall, 3-3 league) surrender 380 rushing yards, it allowed a team ranked last in the ACC and 115th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing yards per game (130.9) to complete seven passes for 202 yards.

Of those seven passes, five went for at least 19 yards. Four of the passes totaled 32, 37, 39 and 63 yards.

“They out-executed us (Saturday),” Tar Heels linebacker Kevin Reddick said. “You just have to be disciplined. The coaches were telling us all week ‘Do your job, do your job,’ and the guys didn’t come out and do that.”

Reddick’s reason for Georgia Tech’s passing efficiency was “guys having their eyes in the wrong place,” a paramount mistake when facing the triple option.

Another surprise came with Georgia Tech (5-5, 4-3) taking control in the third quarter, a frame North Carolina has owned this season. The Tar Heels entered the game having outscored teams 89-23 in the quarter and held a 29-28 halftime lead Saturday.

Thanks to a 100-yard kickoff return by Jamal Golden on the first play of the second half and shoddy play by North Carolina, Georgia Tech scored 30 points in the third quarter. After another vintage touchdown from running back Giovani Bernard restored the Tar Heels’ lead at 36-34, the Yellow Jackets scored 24 straight points.

Bernard’s touchdown – a 78-yard catch-and-run down the visiting sideline while breaking three tackles – could have been a momentum-changing play.

Instead, it was Georgia Tech and running back Robert Godhigh who were energized. Godhigh scored each of the next three touchdowns.

“I definitely thought it would give us a boost,” senior defensive tackle Sylvester Williams said of the acrobatic touchdown. “To be honest, the offense gave us a chance to win. The defense, we didn’t get it done.”

While Williams and Reddick willingly accepted blame for the defeat, the offense wasn’t completely absolved.

Quarterback Bryn Renner fumbled a snap inside Georgia Tech’s 20-yard line in the first half and threw an interception during the second half during Georgia Tech’s scoring frenzy.

“We didn’t make enough plays,” Renner said. “We just didn’t get that momentum.”

North Carolina narrowed the gap to 58-50 early in the fourth quarter when Tar Heels cornerback Tim Scott returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown.

But Georgia Tech answered with an eight-play, 81-yard drive that was capped with a 22-yard rushing touchdown by Orwin Smith. North Carolina never sniffed a comeback after that.

Tar Heels receiver Quinshad Davis was a bright spot, catching seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. It was the first 100-yard game of the freshman’s career.

With 78 yards, Bernard became the first North Carolina player to record back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons since Natrone Means in 1991-92. Bernard’s 172 all-purpose yards pushed his total to 1,670 for the season, which ranks fifth all-time in school history. He trails former Cummings High School star Brandon Tate’s 1,765 for fourth place.

EXTRA POINTS …:Georgia Tech senior Tevin Washington tied the ACC record for rushing touchdowns in a career for quarterbacks with 35. … Washington was replaced by redshirt freshman quarterback Vad Lee, who’s from Durham, in the first quarter. Lee threw for 169 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 112 yards and two scores. … This was the highest-scoring game between North Carolina and Georgia Tech in 48 meetings. ... A North Carolina school record was set for total points with 118. The previous high was 99 points in a 1993 game against Maryland, which was surpassed in the first three quarters. … The teams combined for 1,085 yards of offense. … North Carolina senior kicker Casey Barth, who’s the school’s all-time leader in career field goals, was shaken up while covering a kick return in the second half and did not return.